Blog
NGOs urged to apply for £6 billion euros of EU money
Six billion euros is up for grabs for NOGs from the European Commission to spend on health projects - but they must apply within the next six months before the time limit on this fund runs out. Petru Luhan MEP has urged health NGOs to apply for a share of this funding...
Personalised medicine – hype or hope?
In just over a week I shall be joining EuropaColon's dedicated team in Barcelona for the 2nd Colorectal Cancer Patient Conference which is attracting cancer patients and clinicians throughout Europe who will share valuable experiences. Tragically, colorectal cancer...
My childhood memories at Bletchley Park
We had a Father's Day outing yesterday to Bletchley Park and one of the stewards, Jean Cheshire, told me what it was like living there as a child with the code breakers when her father worked there during World War 2. I asked her if she had met Alan Turning. You will...
The holy grail for early cancer diagnosis takes a huge leap forward
The quest for the holy grail for early cancer detection has taken a huge leap forward following a major collaboration between Cancer Research UK, Cancer Research Technology and Abcodia, the biomarker validation company with a focus on cancer screening. Through...
The world’s first tweeting garden
I met two ingenious guys at the Chelsea Flower Show, the Harfleet brothers, Paul and Tom, who introduced social media into a garden theme in collaboration with the University of Lincoln - winning a coveted gold medal too - by designing the world's first tweeting...
New ryegrass can help prevent flooding
Congratulations to researchers at Aberystwyth University who have developed a new ryegrass species which could help reduce the impact of flooding through its roots system. The hybrid can capture more water in soils than is possible with current agricultural grasses....
Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy
I am stunned to learn that the beautiful actress Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy because she was at risk of developing breast cancer as she she carries the gene BRCA1 associated with this. Her mother had died of cancer at the age of 56. Angelina broke the...
Wendy Cope’s poem for the Poets House, Ely
I joined Ely's beautiful people yesterday for the opening of Ely's first boutique hotel called Poets House - complete with copper baths in the bedroom - and sipped my champagne with a local bishop, our MP, my dashing potato farmer friend, a few councillors and local...
Colon cancer – have you been checked?
The first time I met Jola Gore-Booth and Julia Kennedy from EuropaColon in Brussels in 2008, they quizzed me closely about my medical background to see if I needed to be screened for colon (bowel) cancer. They say people find it embarrassing to talk about bottoms -...